• Do you commit to eating healthy and exercising, but struggle with sticking with your plan?
• Do you desperately want to release the weight, but doubt your ability to create the body you want?
• Do you know how to diet and exercise, but struggle to bridge the gap between knowledge and action?
• Do you suffer from nagging health issues, and feel like your body is somehow broken or betraying you?
• Do you have a strong belief that you “should be” dieting and exercising, and judge yourself as “weak” for not doing them?

At the root of all of these is a lack of self-trust.

Self-trust is one of the areas you need to develop to Love Your Way Slim.

Each time you question your ability to make a good decision, you are really questioning your belief in yourself.

I used to unintentionally erode my self-confidence by being so afraid to make decisions that I often wouldn’t make any decision at all—which ironically was still making a decision and disempowering myself all at the same time.

While I’ve always been careful of the promises I made to others because honoring them was so important to me, I wouldn’t think twice about making and breaking promises to myself.

This presented a continual message to myself that I wasn’t trustworthy in my relationship with me.

This lack of faith in myself fed my fear of making the “wrong” decision, which just perpetuated the cycle. As a result:

• Part of me would “hold back” from fully committing to the action I knew I needed to take.
• I constantly questioned–and therefore undermined–the diet and exercise program I was doing, thinking there might be something better.
• I was incredibly self-critical, and felt my past results showed I was a “failure.”

To get off this crazy train, it’s helpful to recognize that each decision you make just leads to another decision.

Unless you’re making a decision that will result in life or death, if you don’t like the way you’re going, you can always make a new decision and shift direction.

While our decisions may result in consequences we don’t like, often the fear of the consequences is much worse than actually going through them.

Typically, going through those experiences gives you the information you need to figure out what you DO want, which enables you to make a new, healthier choice.

When you can let go of feeling like every decision is forever, you can then begin strengthening your beliefs in the choices that you are making.

This helps build self-trust.

Self-trust is:

• Honoring and respecting yourself.
• Always honoring and keeping the promises you make to yourself.
• Listening to—and acting on—your inner wisdom no matter what.
• Trusting your decisions.
• Knowing you deserve—and only tolerating—loving and respectful relationships, including your relationship with you.
• Knowing you can fully rely on you.

To develop self-trust, it’s important to let go of self-judgment and the belief that you have to be perfect.

You also want to look for and acknowledge every tiny sign of progress. You want to set yourself up for success that you can build on.

Today, begin to practice having confidence in—and gratitude for—all the healthy choices you are making.

• Did you make a healthier lunch choice? Success!
• Did you honor your commitment to get more exercise by parking at the far end of the lot at the grocery store? Success!
• Did you turn down that cookie despite the fact you really wanted it? Success!

Developing self-trust doesn’t mean that you will never make the decision to treat yourself or relax. But when you do that it will because you are honoring a decision that you consciously made to fully enjoy a splurge or rest day rather than feeling guilty because you are reneging on another decision.

Pay attention to how well you honor your self-promises. Look for ways that you can strengthen your belief that you can become the best possible you.

Together we can do it!